By Dana Robinson
When I walk into the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, I’m struck by the steady rhythm of purpose all around me. A student running a high-fidelity simulation, mastering complex decision-making under pressure. A faculty researcher analyzing data that could change how entire populations access care. A group of students preparing to testify on policies that will determine the health of communities for generations.
These moments are everyday here, but they are anything but ordinary. And when I witness them, I feel the weight of where I am and the truth of why it matters. To be here is both humbling and powerful.
I joined the Hopkins Nursing community in 2024, stepping into the role of Associate Dean for Strategic Communications and Marketing. From day one, I’ve understood that this work is not simply about messaging or visibility. It is about lifting voices that deserve to be heard. It is about ensuring that the story of Hopkins Nursing, and the story of nursing more broadly, is told with the dignity, clarity, and vision it deserves.
I grew up in Baltimore City, in a family that taught me not just to be good, but to do good and to do more good every chance I get. That grounding carried me to the frontlines of protests and advocacy spaces, where I learned that voices can demand justice and stories can spark change.
The reality we live in is deeply fractured. Inequities are cut to the bone in health, in opportunity, in who gets to be heard and who is left invisible. Too often, our systems reflect that brokenness more than they reflect humanity. In a world that can feel relentlessly divided, nurses remind us that intelligence, evidence, equity, and justice are not opposites, rather they are the forces that can still hold it all together. Nurses live this truth more consistently than anyone else.
Years ago, I wore a crown on the campus of Delaware State University. At the time, it seemed like a symbol of pride and visibility, but what I’ve carried with me since is the deeper truth: a crown is never about recognition; it’s about responsibility. It’s about service and the courage to use your voice to lift others.
Much like many students today, when I couldn’t afford to stay in school, I faced the possibility of having to pause my education. I ran and campaigned for the 50th Miss Delaware State University 2006-2007 because the title came with a full tuition and housing scholarship for the year and leaving school was NOT an option for me. What began as a practical decision rooted in my own immediate need became the most formative lesson I’ve ever received.
What I gained was a lifelong understanding of what it means to lead with purpose. Completing my education and later returning to Baltimore to serve became extensions of that lesson — that leadership requires presence, empathy, and accountability.
That’s what I see in nurses every day. They are on the frontlines of nursing education, of care, of community, of research, of policy, and of systems that must be reimagined. It’s the crowns you can’t see, but can’t ignore. They wear crowns of responsibility when they design new models of care grounded in evidence and tested with rigor. They wear crowns of courage when they push against outdated systems with data, vision, and bold solutions. They wear crowns of brilliance when they generate discoveries that reshape public health, advance science, and influence policy at the highest levels. Their crowns are not jeweled or ceremonial, but they are evident in the lives they change and in the knowledge they create.
My own journey has taught me that visibility, advocacy, and storytelling are not accessories to leadership, they are its foundation. A story can shift perception, open access, and move us toward equity and justice. A story can name what’s broken and remind us that humanity and intellect will always be worth fighting for.
That’s why I am here. My purpose is to ensure that the voices of nurses are not whispered in the margins but amplified at the center. Their research. Their advocacy. Their innovation. Their impact. These are the stories that must be heard.
Because when we elevate nurses, we don’t just elevate a profession, we elevate humanity itself. Nurses are not supporting players in the story of health; they are scientists, visionaries, and leaders shaping what comes next. So, while I may not be a nurse, I am the biggest nurse cheerleader and champion. And in Baltimore and beyond, in a society that urgently needs equity and justice, one truth is clear: nurses aren’t just part of the solution. Nurses ARE the solution.
Dana Robinson is associate dean for strategic communications at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. Banner photo from 2022 is courtesy of Baltimore’s Afro-American newspaper.